Western Courier

Issue date: 10/6/06 Section: The Edge

X-Men 3
Grade: B-


When director Bryan Singer bailed on creating the third X-Men film to direct "Superman Returns," Brett Ratner (Rush Hour, Red Dragon) was given the hard task of following in Singer's footsteps. Many fans questioned whether Ratner could do the series justice as Singer had, and before the film even hit theaters, people were writing the new movie off as a failure. While sales figures don't always tell how good something is, "X-Men: The Last Stand" opened in theaters, selling the third-highest recorded ticket sales ever on a first day. These numbers quickly silenced Ratner's critics and showed that even though the third film had a new director, it was still more of the same.

The story for "The Last Stand" opens with the mutant community being torn in two after a cure is developed that allows mutants to become "normal." While some mutants can't wait to be cured, others are angered by the idea of being stripped of their powers. Magneto (Ian McKellan) quickly starts to raise a following of mutants to stop the cure from being produced. If things weren't bad enough, Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) and her unstable alter ego, Phoenix, have returned and started to wreak havoc.

Ratner has really pulled out all of the stops to keep the franchise going. There are new mutants, such as Beast, played by Kelsey Grammer, and Juggernaut (Vinnie Jones). There are many shocking events that occur, such as main characters dying and some losing their powers. The action scenes have a more epic feel. While Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) is definitely pushed as the main character, other characters such as Storm (Halle Berry) are given a bigger role and Jean Grey's past is explored as well.

The special effects are used in new and interesting ways. Besides the regular explosions, fight sequences and crazy weather that Storm creates, the special effects are also used to de-age Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen for a scene when both of their respective characters were much younger.

While "The Last Stand" tries to keep things interesting with the shocking deaths and loss of powers, it does seem to go a bit overboard with some events, seeming too forced just to throw people off track. There is a fair amount of absurdity, but overall, "The Last Stand" remains right up there with the other two X-Men films, put somewhere in between the first and second movie as far as rank. One bonus for the movie is, just like in the second film where the annoying Cyclops was kidnapped and disappeared for three-fourths of the movie, pretty-boy Cyclops is yet again given less screen time. Be sure to watch the short scene after the closing credits to see a certain character, which was thought to be killed, earn redemption. If FOX sticks to its story and "The Last Stand" is the final X-Men movie, then the trilogy has ended on an entertaining note. This is a definite rent for the casual movie viewer, and an own for the die-hard fan.

-Brent Busby
Edge staff

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